Seasoned riders Bergran Jensen and Courtney Liebenberg won the Elite men and women’s 2022 Nedbank Rock and Rut Cross Country competition on Saturday at Farm Windhoek.

In the men’s elite and under-23 competition, Jensen beat a strong challenge from Xavier Papo to win the event in a time of one hour 17 minutes and 48 seconds (01:17:48) after seven laps in the 4.1 kilometre cycling tracks which feature various obstacles.

Papo, who finished fourth in the 12th African Cycling Confederation (CAC) Mountain Bike (MTB) Africa Championships at the same venue two weeks ago, completed the event in a time of 01:19:41.

He won the first Rock and Rut marathon earlier this year.

Third place went to Heinrich Kohne, who clocked 01:22:44.

In the ladies’ race, Liebenberg beat Monique Du Plessis and Nicola Fester to win the race in a time of 01:19:00 after six laps.

Du Plessis clocked 01:19:36 in second place and Fester clocked 01:21:56 in third place after the same number of laps.

Speaking to Nampa at the end of the race, Liebenberg said the race was tough but fine as the track was a winding, with many obstacles.

“Competition was strong and there were quite a few faces riding in the elite race. The weather also played along as it was perfect for racing. On a personal level I am happy with my time because I am just recovering from an illness and injury,” she said.

This is the second series of the mountain bike cross country series for the 2022 season, in which over 120 cyclists took part in various age categories.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency